This Blog monitors all terror activities of Indian Naxals ie., PWG (Peoples War Group) and Government policies to tackle naxal menace . PWG's current goal is to destablize India and Sub-Continent by a well coordinated strategy with the help of international revolutionaries and covert support from Pakistan and China .

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Three days after the Maoist attack in which three of his colleagues were gunned down while having lunch, constable Nripendranath Das of Sarenga police station still cannot believe his luck. Das was one of the five policemen, who were attacked near Pirolgari crossing on June 3.

He and National Volunteer Force (NVF) personnel Balaram Maity had decided to stay with the police vehicle while the three others had their lunch.

“There was a friendly argument over who would have lunch first, as someone would have to stay with the vehicle. In the end, Maity and I decided to take lunch once the others finished and returned. I got out of the police van to stretch my legs when I heard gunfire at the dhaba. Before I could react, one of the miscreants hit me in the face with his pistol and took my rifle,” recounts Das, sitting on his bed in the ENT ward of the Bankura Medical College & Hospital.

Ranchi, June 7 (PTI) Naxalism, which started off as a people's movement, has now become a nearly Rs 1500 crore organised extortion business in the form of 'levy', police and central security officials said.CPI (Maoist) and especially its splinter groups, which extort the money hardly pump it back for running the movement but instead use it to maintain luxurious life-styles for their masters, the officials said.

The Naxal literature and documents seized by central security agencies and state police forces during their operations have revealed intricate details of "levy" extorted by groups which run in several hundred crores every year.

The 'levy' is not only paid by the contractors working in the areas dominated by the Naxals but also by the industrial houses including some of the nationally reputed ones, the officials said.

Though, CPI (Maoist) still remains the prominent Naxal group in Jharkhand, there are other splinter groups which too have now started imposing 'levy' besides indulging in kidnapping, looting and narcotics trade, which results in around Rs 300 crore as annual income from the state.

If a conservative estimate is taken of the income generated from 'levy' in the seven most Naxal-infested states -- Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra -- security agencies feel the collection from these areas, which are commonly referred to as 'red corridor', amount to nearly Rs 1,500 crore. PTI

Peasant movements have drawn a lot of attention among academics and social activists. The Naxalite movement too has gained a lot of acclaim as a peasant movement. The movement at present is very active in the tribal belts of Chotanagpur, Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. It is active in some places of Bihar as well, where the lower castes and under-classes have been mobilised. The name ‘Naxalite’ draws its antecedence from the movement that emerged in 1967 at the Naxalbari area of Darjeeling district in West Bengal. “The term comes from Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal, where a section of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) under the leadership of Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a violent uprising in 1967, trying to develop a ‘revolutionary opposition’ in opposition to the CPI-M leadership. The insurrection started on May 24, 1967 in Naxalbari village when a peasant was attacked by hired hands over a land dispute. Local peasants retaliated by attacking the landlords and the violence escalated. Mazumdar greatly admired Mao Zedong of China and advocated that Indian peasants and lower classes must follow in his footsteps and overthrow the government and upper classes whom he held responsible for their plight. He engendered the Naxalite movement through his writings, the most famous being the ‘Historic Eight Documents’ which formed the basis of the Naxalite ideology.” (Wikipedia) The Communist Party of China hailed the movement as the “Spring Thunder of India”.

It is commonly stated that “the objective of the new movement was ‘seizure of power’ through an agrarian revolution. The strategy was the elimination of the feudal order in the countryside to free the poor from clutches of the oppressive landlords and replace the old order with an alternative one that would implement land reforms. The tactics to achieve it was through guerrilla warfare by the peasants to eliminate the landlords and build resistance against the State police force.” (Internet: Asia Mass Media links). Chadha (nd) writes similarly: “On May 24, 1967, the first incident came to light when there was a clash between a poor peasant and a landlord over land which probably belonged to the peasant…. The next incident after this was a clash between guards of a tea estate and peasants.”

The Naxalite movement spread in the West Bengal State as a wildfire and particularly the urban elite youth and the bhadralok class got attracted to it. As of now the movement has attained a strong footing in many States outside West Bengal, though the movement petered out in Naxalbari within a short time.

The purpose of this paper is not to enter into theoretical polemics linked to the concept of peasantry or social movement, but to bring out the truth that affected the indigenous Rajbansi people which became apparent through the review of secondary literature and first-hand field experience. First of all, it needs to be questioned what was the background of the ‘peasants’ who got mainly involved into fights with the landlords and who were the peasant leaders? References from the secondary sources clearly indicate that the first skirmish that began in May 1967 involved no one but a Santal and a so-called Rajbansi ‘jotedar’. The next day too the mob that attacked the police party with bows and arrows and killed a police officer were mostly Santals and other tribal tea plantation labourers. (Mukherjee: 1978, Duyker: 1987, Bonner: 1990) It is not known to a majority of the scholars and the laity that the demographic composition of Naxalbari and the involvement of Santals and other tribes they mention, are in reality mostly migrants from Chotanagpur who arrived in the region when the tea plantations were established. Many of the plantation workers started cultivating on either the surplus lands within the tea plantations or on the fallow lands adjoining the plantations as owners or as sharecroppers. The original owners of these lands were usually the Rajbansi ‘jotedars’ —landlords. Rajbansis are the autochthones of the region. (Sarkar: 2006: 154) Partho Mukherjee (1978, 1987) writes that at the time of Naxalbari movement there were 32 tea gardens in the three adjoining police stations, Naxalbari, Phansidewa and Khoribari, covering 274 sq. miles, that were affected. There were 32 revenue units and 90 jotes or settlements in the area. It is also to be noted that the tribes (migrants) comprised of almost 30 per cent of the population. Sarkar (op.cit.: 2006) writes that right now there are 30 legal and 25 illegal tea estates in Phansidewa and Khoribari Blocks respectively. Ray (1988) had clearly stated that the Naxalites had taken their name from an organised uprising by tea garden labourers near Naxalbari in 1967.

Mukherjee (op.cit.) states that there was a very high percentage of share-croppers in the region. Among those owning five acres or less land, the percentage of sharecroppers in Naxalbari, Phansidewa and Khoribari were 60 per cent, 65 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. In comparison to the sharecroppers, the area had few landless agricultural labourers. It was 4.6 per cent in Naxalbari, 6.1 per cent in Phansidewa and 5.4 per cent in Khoribari. Thus the agrarian structure was not very inequatious. It is surprising that Biplab Dasgupta (Dasgupta: 1974: 13) gave credence to the support of the landless labourers. Even now there are very few landless agricultural labourers among the Rajbansis. Chattopadhyay and Ghosh (1983) have brought to light that owing to lack of irrigation facilities, cropping pattern, intensity of cropping etc., operational holdings of up to even 7.5 acres can hardly be called ‘high’ in view of the extremely low return from land.

♦

MOST studies covering the movement and the region indict the Rajbansi landlords who exploited their ‘adhiars’ or the sharecroppers. But almost all the studies baring a few miss out that the Rajbansis were in reality a tribal community and their settlements were lineage based. Sarkar (2006) directly ascribes the Rajbansis as tribes. While in West Bengal they have been assigned the Scheduled Caste status, across the border in Assam, Hiteswar Saikia, the late Chief Minister, had recommended them to be given the Scheduled Tribe status. Most of the Rajbansi adhiars in the past were kin relations of the jotedars and the ‘jotedar’ represented a corporate entity. It is very clearly evident in the case of Rajbansis in the Duars where the jotedars collected the share from the adhiars and parcelled part of it to the Bhutan Subah—the intermediary of the Bhutan king (Karlsson: 2000). Incidences of such revenue collectors were replete all over the tribal belt of Chotanagpur. These tax collectors helped retaining the corporate character of the community. The material condition of the ‘jotedar’ and the local adhiars was hardly discernable. The situation continues to be so even now. The jotedar at the most possesses a double-storied mud house with thatched roofing as compared to the single-storied mud houses of the adhiars. A recent study by Enika Basu (2007) reveals that at Rambala village near Naxalbari (which was at the centre of the movement), while a jotedar owning 10 acres of land cultivates only six bighas of land himself, the rest 30 bighas have been shelled out to six sharecroppers. The jotedars used to be called ‘Giri’, the respected one, who had social responsibilities towards the adhiars, a majority of whom were his kinsmen. Usually the Giri and his kinsmen together occupied small mounds surrounded by agricultural plots. Such hamlets are often marked by sacred bamboo groves collectively worshipped by all.

The situation changed drastically with intrusion of the British who introduced their land revenue system and conferred proprietory right to the jotedars, ignoring the stewardship they enjoyed over land and forests. It needs to be pointed out that as compared to other areas of Bengal most of the Rajbansi jotedars were not absentee landlords and that they cultivated their lands mainly through family labour. Mukherjee (1987: 1611) states: “The structure of jotedari system was based on a patrimonial-feudal culture of the Rajbansis. It is generally accepted that the original jotedars, who are almost exclusively Rajbansis, settled down on a tract largely forest or fallow land. They possessed both working capital and fixed capital (instruments of production). They brought with them fellow caste-men who had only labour at their disposal. These were the adhiars. Initially both the jotedar and the adhiar would clear forest land and engage in settled cultivation. The jote was named after the jotedar. (This sort of system is to be found in most tribal areas where the land used to be recorded in the name of the first settling family; but the family is considered to be only a steward or custodian and not owner—the British brought in the Roman law of proprietory right and distorted the system to turn the custodians into owners.) Unfortunately the Naxalites followed this very alien law to identify jotedars among the Rajbansis. Jotedar in Bengali nomenclature usually connotes absentee landlords. But in the Terai region of Bengal they were considered to be the ones directly paying landrevenue to the government. Under the British land revenue system, this did not make them a class of substantial landholders, but in fact, admitted of considerable heterogeneity. The majority of the jotedars had holdings of moderate size.” It is only with the massive influx of outsiders that the things changed. There emerged some Marwari and upper-caste Bengali landlords who did not till the land by themselves and introduced an exploitative relationship with the adhiars. Some of the Rajbansi jotedars too became influenced by this. “Jotedari system was transformed into jotedar-adhiari system with an increasing contradiction between capital and labour.” (Mukherjee: 1978: 79) Initially, the relationship between the jotedars and his adhiars—members of the same lineage—were quite cordial. The Rajbansi adhiars used to have free access to the precincts of the Giri household. Cases of jotedars without sons bringing adhiars into their families as sons-in-law was not frequent but an institutionalised practice. Mukherjee (1987) states that prior to the emergence of the Britsh, the Rajbansis used to have a single egalitarian structure. The intrusion of the market had a disastrous effect and many erstwhile jotedars were reduced to the status of marginal peasants in bondage.

♦

THE migrant Chotanagpur tribes gained a strong footing into the region through the Krishak Sabha and the Communist dominated Tea Garden Trade Union. “The Krishak Sabha did not contemplate bringing about structural change in the feudal system—it was merely trying to get better share of produce for the marginalised peasant a better share of the produce, and where he was being denied a share of the surplus land, it tried to give a patch of land, even if need be, by force.” (Mukherjee: 1978: 81) The question then arises who are these marginalised peasants mentioned time and again? Personal field visits while guiding research scholars proved that a majority of the so-called ‘peasants’ involved in the uprising were the migrant tribal labourers many of whom got employed in the tea gardens and did share-cropping seasonally. Some of them also acquired land permanently for cultivation.

Now the question that arises is: who are these peasants and peasant leaders who have been repeatedly praised for their active role in the movement? As already indicated, the main skirmishes that started the agitation involved tea garden labourers and migrant tribes of Chotanagpur, who dwelt on the fringes of the plantations. It will be a misnomer to term them as peasants; they were mostly plantation workers. Unfortunately, the main figures of the local movement—Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santal were similarly all immigrants. While Charu Mazumdar came from an affluent Bengali peasant background and lived in the adjoining town called Siliguri, Kanu Sanyal was a high-caste Bengali refugee. Jangal Santal too was a migrant tribal leader. All of them were trade union leaders of the tea gardens and had nothing to do with the peasantry. There were several other Bengali middle class people involved in the movement, a majority of whom too were refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan or Bangladesh. It is not that there were no Rajbansi adhiars and jotedars involved in the movement, but they were sporadic individual cases. Our field survey revealed that many of the Rajbansis who participated in the uprisal were Bangladeshi refugees. Also, many of the Rajbansi adhiars (sharecroppers) also sided with the Rajbansi jotedars during the height of the movement. No wonder Jangal Santal, the Communist leader, lost in the election from the area in 1967. The votes got polarised on ethnic lines. The Naxalbari movement created an ethnic divide similar to the Tebhaga movement in the neighbouring region where even the middle-peasants or small tribal jotedars joined the anti-landlord movement (led by the migrant tribals or adivasis), resulting in an ‘adivasi’ mobilisation on ethnic lines rather than pure class antagonism (as stated by Sharit Bhowmik: 1986). Hence it will be wrong to brand the Naxalbari movement as a peasant movement. It was an outsiders’ movement whose main intention was to grab lands of the indigenous Rajbansis. In no way was the movement based on agrarian class antagonism.

Mukherjee (op.cit.: 1987) writes that ethnic antagonism got consolidated among the tribal adhiars as they felt discriminated by the Rajbansi jotedars as compared to the Rajbansi adhiars who enjoyed close social ties with their masters and carried out many of the social activities like marriage and religious rituals together. While the Rajbansi jotedars and the Rajbansi adhiars could share water from the same well, the migrant tribal adhiars were debarred. Thus it makes it difficult to accept the Naxalbari episode as a class war or an agrarian movement as proclaimed by the Naxalites. The so called class enemies annihilated were mostly Rajbansi landowners. It rather led to a kind of ethnocide. This inherent lacuna mainly resulted in an early exit of the movement. Even the Santals realised about the fallacy of the Naxalite leaders who were trying to take advantage of their hideouts. Naturally the movement could not sustain genuine mass participation by the tribals with a sense of solidarity. (Adhikari and Bhattacharya: 1983)

Today there is hardly any trace of the movement in the area. Kanu Sanyal, a prominent leader of the movement presently lives in one of the tribal settlements close to Naxalbari and is engaged in trade union activities in the tea gardens of North Bengal. It would not be out of place to refer to Rabindra Ray (1988) at this juncture: “The first fact of this history is that it rests on a myth, namely, Charu Mazumdar’s contention (offered much later than the event, as also Kanu Sanyal’s Report) that in Naxalbari in mid-1967 poor and landless peasants had fought for political power and not for land. There is little doubt that apart from the mistrusted respect that these radicals received from the population, there were no on-going institutions of political authority.” Referring to Sumanta Banerjee, Ray also critiqued those who were reporting from the areas of struggles, viewing everything through the eyes of landless peasants.

In some quarters, tribes have been depicted as peasants. Jaganath Pathy (1984: 43), for instance, writes: “All the major tribes of India are actually peasant societies existing within the broad political economy of the state. Their existence and motion can only be understood in terms of a class analysis of the societies and the articulation of the different modes of production within their structures.” Ramchandra Guha similarly brands the Khasas of Garhwal as peasants (1989). It is feared that such a nomenclature will not be tolerated by the tribes themselves. There are very few tribes in India who operate as underclasses within zamindari system. In most agricultural areas, though some of the tribes hold larger holdings, they do not form a zamindari class. Besides, there is a substantial number of tribes who are not into agriculture. This apart, the notion of peasantry is much more constricted as compared to ethnicity or nationality. Peasants enjoy much lesser rights compared to the other categories. Bhowmik’s study on the Tebhaga movement, as already referred to, indicated ethnic mobilisations transcending class positions among the migrant tribals.

♦

IT is a pity that none of the communist leaders raised a finger at the expropriation of the Rajbansi lands by the tea estates—they are owned by the Marwaris, big business houses and multinational companies. The tea estates also had 65,000 acres of surplus land. (Bonner: 1990) The planters are much bigger landlords than the petty Rajbansi jotedars. Sarker (2006: 160) has very clearly indicated the damage inflicted by the tea gardens in North Bengal:

(a) The tea planters of colonial and free India hardly invested any of the profits of the plantation in the development of the region.

(b) The capital formed out of the profits from the tea gardens did not in any way benefit the local market; rather it dislocated the agrarian economy of the region and crippled the purchasing capacity of the people in general and of the tribe in particular. As a cash crop, tea determined the price level of essential goods in the local market.

(c ) These capitalists neither thought of nor encouraged an alternative base of economic growth for the agrarian and toiling people of North Bengal.

Nothing has also been spoken about the vast stretches of forest lands which, were appropriated by the British during the colonial period. Also, no-body showed any concern about the large areas of land acquired by the Army, Air Force and the Border Security Force. The Bagdogra airport and Artillery Training Centre in the region too has abrogated large chunks of land. The state itself has been a much greater oppressor than the individual jotedars. No government data is available to establish the exact area under State control. A partial data of the government control in Darjeeling district as the following does provide some indication. It is apparent that more than 50 per cent of the district is under government forests and tea gardens.

In Hectares

Total Geographical area Net area under cultivation Area under forest Area Tea and others Total Population Per capita agri. land 3,25,469 1,47,986 1,24,574 52,909 7,79,576 0.19

Source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal (As referred by E. Basu)

It also needs to be pointed out that the urban oriented Naxalite leaders followed the same Roman laws introduced by the British in the land revenue system. They ignored the traditional corporate land tenure system of the Rajbansis who should have been recognised as Scheduled Tribes. The leaders instead stuck to the 1953 West Bengal Land Acquisition Act leading to fragmentation of the lands owned by the Rajbansis. This has turned their lives even more vulnerable and more so due to the massive influx of refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan, migrants from Bihar and Nepal. A rapid study carried out by Enika Basu (op.cit.) during 2006-07 revealed that Rambala village near Naxalbari has 20 migrant households out of a total of 32– of which 12 are Santals. There are only 12 Rajbansi households. A majority of the migrants are adhiars. (Rambala was originally an exclusively Rajbansi settlement.) It is no wonder that the area, which once harboured the Naxalite movement, has turned into a hub of the ‘Kamtapur’ movement and enjoys support from Rajbansis irrespective of their class background. Hence it would perhaps not be wrong to draw a conclusion that the Naxalbari movement was more of an ethnic mobilisation than an agrarian peasant movement. Mukherjee (1978) had indicated towards the end of his article the need to undertake a thorough research to probe into the true nature of the Naxalite movement in Naxalbari. It can be sensed that he had serious doubts about branding the Naxalbari movement as a peasant movement and the outcome of a class war.

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has submitted a special action plan to the Centre to deal with the increased activities of the Naxalites during the last two months. The Naxalites have killed at least six persons in Koraput and Malkangiri in recent times leading to apprehensions that some areas have slipped out of the hands of the State administration. DGP Manmohan Praharaj, however, asserted that no area in the State, including Malkangiri, has slipped out of the hands of the administration as is alleged. He admitted that in some areas close to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh borders, the situation is serious because of the high altitude.

The special action plan envisages construction of roads, helipads and bridging infrastructure gaps. Security hubs will be created in the affected areas to help police launch offensive against the Naxalites in a more coordinated manner. The Rs 12-crore action plan will be implemented in Malkangiri and Rayagada districts now, the DGP said.

Fighting the Naxalites has become tough because of lack of infrastructure, admitted Praharaj. Intelligence failure is not always the reason behind the apparent success of the Left Wing Extremists (LWEs). It sometimes becomes difficult to launch an operation even if the police had information, because of infrastructural deficiencies, Praharaj added. One battalion, nearly 1,000 personnel, of Central force, deployed in northern part of the State, will be shifted to the southern region mostly in undivided Koraput district to deal with the sudden spurt in Naxalite activities, the DGP said.

The State Government has recruited 400 tribal youths to fill vacancies in police stations in these areas. To a question on the secret behind Andhra Pradesh’s success in tackling the menace, the DGP said once the capacity building is complete in Orissa, things will be easy for the security personnel to curb violence. While at least 60 security personnel were killed by the Maoists during the last two years, the police could eliminate only 11 Naxalites during the period, he said, adding that the fight against the Maoists is different from fighting enemies on the border.On killing of people by Naxals on suspicion of being police informers, the DGP said `no police informer is killed.’ They kill innocent people and say the victim was a police informer.

The police has no informer from among the public, he said. Orissa police has always respected human rights even while dealing with the Naxalites, Praharaj claimed. There is no serious human rights violation case against Orissa police, he said

NAGPUR: The ongoing intense Naxal movement in adjoining Chhattisgarh, which shares its boundary with Maharashtra in Gadchiroli, is being viewed as main reason for the increased violence by the rebels in the state which has claimed 34 security personnel since 01/02 Markegaon carnage.

Sources said that Naxals have eight divisions under Dandakaranya special zonal committee. North (covering from Dhanora to Etapalli) and South (Aheri to Asar Alli) Gadchiroli divisions are active in the state. Six strong divisions, including Manpur, North Bastar, Madh, South Bastar, west Bastar and Dharbha, functions in Chhattisgarh. Out of six, five strong divisions are directly influencing the movements along the border in Gadchiroli.

Police department, which has sent a proposal for at least 14 more armed outposts in Gadchiroli, have also initiated a process to reorient their administrative jurisdictions and planning for further reinforcements of paramilitary forces. Gadchiroli, bifurcated into North and South, would be having two officers of superintendent of police ranks. North and South Gadchiroli SPs, along with Gondia SP, would work under an officer of deputy inspector general (DIG) rank who would be heading the range of three SPs. Nagpur range has been proposed to be separated from Gadchiroli and Gondia.

Along with state anti-Naxal operation (ANO) cell, special action group (SAG) would be shifted to Gadchiroli where a chopper would be stationed permanently. While maximum force of district police would be set aside for law and order, ANO would be given additional strength with a combine force of C-60 commandos, SAG, paramilitary forces, special anti-Naxal force and some from the district police.

Manpur division is close to Gadchiroli’s heavily affected Murumgaon and Markegaon villages, North Bastar adjoins Pendhri and Kasansur areas, Madh division is close to Bhamragadh and Gatta, South Bastar is close to Sironcha while Asar Alli and adjoining villages are close to west Bastar divisions. Sources said that each of these divisions in Chhattisgarh comprises two to three platoons and one company dalam along with Local Guerrilla squad, two to three military platoons and jan militia platoons of armed village supporters under a dalam member.

If the proximity of the Naxal strongholds in Chhattisgarh has been cited as one of the main reasons, the recent amalgamation of platoon dalams to form Border platoon has increased Naxal violence. Local intelligence source at Gadchiroli also pointed out that the district is witnessing a spurt in the movement after the potent Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee started reorganising their strength in the affected district. The revamped Naxal force, under Mangal Korchami, alias Diwakar, and Sujan Singh Markham, alias Rajesh, have ensured a fresh lease of life in the movement with their aggressive approach. Unlike in the past, Naxals have formed a marauding assault group of around 150-200 cadres, handpicking them from local, platoons and company dalams, with sophisticated weapons. The organisational reforms have worked in favour of the Naxals which inflicted three major blows to Gadchiroli police since February including the latest at Hatti Gota (25/05) that claimed 16 police personnel. At least two dalams from Chhattisgarh, including Pana Baras which was active along the borders, have also started lending their shoulders to their Gadchiroli counterparts

Hyderabad (PTI) The Union Government will soon launch a new scheme, 'Modernisation of Forest Administration', to improve the forest administration and simultaneously tackle the growing menace of Naxalites.

The Centrally-sponsored scheme would be launched in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar which are currently facing the Maoist menace, according to Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.

Talking to reporters here on Saturday, Mr. Ramesh said as many as 186 tribal-dominated districts in the country were affected by the Maoist problem.

There is a close connection between forest areas and Maoists. These 186 districts comprise 30 per cent of India's land area and 60 per cent of the country's forest area, the Union Minister noted.

In order to have a more sensitive approach to the forest management and at the same time effectively deal with the Maoists threat, the Modernisation of Forest Administration scheme was mooted.

"We are working on the details of this scheme and the Centre will extend full financial assistance to the state governments in implementing it. Andhra Pradesh has not been included in the scheme as it has been relatively successful in tackling the Maoist menace," he said.

"A sub-inspector was shot by Naxals in Benur village, 250 kms from here, and a special police officer was done to death in Madpnar villager," Pawan Dev, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Naxal) told.

Naxals, in the guise of locals, attacked the villagers who had thronged the weekly bazaar in Benur today and killed sub-inspector J L Lakhda deployed there.

Lakhda was rushed to a hospital in Jagdalpur where he died while undergoing treatment, Dev said.

In another incident, Naxals killed a special police officer in Madpnar village in the district by slitting his throat.

The officer, Rajman, who was proceeding to his hometown Madpnar, was ambushed by at least 12 Naxalites.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Bhubaneswar (Orissa): Orissa Government on Friday literarily admitted that the leftwing insurgency related violence are on rise day by day in South-Western Police range including Malkangiri district, country’s one of the most Maoist affected district. Addressing a Press conference here, State Police Chief Manmoahn Praharaj admitted that the situation in Malkangiri and Koraput is not conducive.

“I am admitting that the situation was not so good in Malkangiri over the last few past weeks but we are trying very hard to counter the red rebels,” a helpless Praharaj added.

He however said that additional Central Forces have been rushed to Malkangiri.

“We are closely monitoring the situation. We have strong information that the Eastern Ghats have been a safe heaven for the outlawed leftwing guerrillas,” he added.

Bhubaneswar, June 5: Odisha Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj on Friday said that an additional battalion of Central Reserve Police Force will be deployed in the southern region of the state to tackle the Maoist menace.

Admitting that some pockets in Malkangiri district was under the control of the Left wing extremists, Praharaj said a special action plan had been prepared to fight the Maoists in Malkangiri and other places in the southern region.

Although 17 of the 30 districts in the state had Maoist presence, the districts of Malkangiri and Rayagada will be covered under the special plan, he informed.

The Maoists killed 60 security personnel in the state last year, while only 11 extremists were killed by the police.

As regards law and order situation in Kandhamal, Praharaj said efforts were on to maintain peace in the district by deployment of adequate number of security personnel and other peace initiatives.

About the frequent incidents of crime and murders in Ganjam district, Praharaj said that special efforts were being made to bring the criminals to book.

Even as Maoists in Keonjhar district on Friday killed a contractor, suspecting him of being a police informer, the Orissa Director General of Police has claimed that the situation has not gone out of control in the Maoist hotbed of Malkangiri.

Contractor Tukuna Sahu’s body was found bearing deep gashes near a pond in Harichandanpur village of Keonjhar early on Friday. The Maoists had left a handwritten note near his body saying they had been looking for Sahu for a long time as “he was a police informer”.

Meanwhile, the Maoists seemed to be having a field day in Malkangiri with their three-day bandh call paralysing the district since Wednesday. The rebels felled hundreds of trees on both sides of the Malkangiri-Koraput road, blocking all movement of vehicles.

On Thursday afternoon, the Maoists had set ablaze five vehicles of the Essar Steel company at Ralegada under Chitrakonda police limits in Malkangiri. But DGP Manmohan Praharaj said that only a tiny part of Malkangiri was out of the state Government’s control.

KUMUD JENAMANI Jamshedpur, June 5: Alert policemen of Ghatshila managed to foil an attempt by about 350 activists of a pro-Naxalite outfit from Bengal to cross the state border and gherao the Chakulia police station to protest the recent arrest of nine alleged Naxalites.

East Singhbhum police ensured a heavy deployment of police and para-military forces — two companies of CRPF and Rapid Action Force were on standby — along the Jharkhand-Bengal border as frenzied activists of Police-Santrash Pratirodh Samiti (PSPS), carrying bows and arrows, tried to cross over into Chakulia this afternoon.

Samiti activists, who came in as many as 10 buses, were shouting slogans against the police and demanding the release of the nine suspected Naxalites arrested on May 31. Later, two of the outfit’s representatives, including a woman, held talks with Deepak Kumar, the officer in-charge of Chakulia police station.

Kumar told them there was enough evidence against the arrested Naxalites and that at least 28 villagers were nabbed last week for taking part in the samiti’s rally that day.

“I asked them to leave as their outfit was banned in Jharkhand. The two representatives weren’t aware of the samiti’s status in Jharkhand,” said Kumar.

The nine arrested Naxalites have been lodged at the Ghatshila sub-divisional jail. The police have recovered a pistol from one of them who is said to have come from Lalgarh in West Midnapore district of neighbouring Bengal to attend the rally.

On May 31, a large number of Samiti activists had assembled in Chakulia and were cajoling local residents to taking part in their rally. The police acted quickly and detained nine rallyist. “The Samiti had organised the rally to make its presence felt in Chakulia, which is yet to become a stronghold of Maoists,” said Kumar.

SP Naveen Kumar Singh said the samiti activists cancelled their programme today due to heavy deployment of police and para-military forces on the Chakulia border.

“The police will not harass innocent people but will act strongly if anybody tried to take the law into their hands,” he said.

Raipur (PTI): Naxals killed four villagers, including a father-son duo, in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Friday.

Kamruddin, 60, and his son were hacked to death by the Maoists who suspected them of being police informers in Basaguda area in Bijapur district, 400 km from here, Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg said.

The two had been abducted four days ago and their bodies have been recovered, he said.

Kunjam Balram was killed by naxals who barged into his house on Thursday and looted household items in Garel village, Inspector General of Police, Bastar, A N Upadhaya told PTI-Bhasha.

The Naxals also killed a former headman of Hirapur village Punem Hunga who was abducted on Tuesday.

Jhari Nagesh, a panchayat secretary of Mallepalli village who was abducted along with Hunga, is untraceable.

;Statesman News ServiceBHUBANESWAR, 5 JUNE: Admitting that fighting Red rebels in 17 of the 30 districts in Orissa has become tough due to lack of infrastructure, state police today unveiled a special action plan to combat the menace in areas severely hit by the Maoists.Of the 17 Maoist-infested districts, Malkangiri and Rayagada would be covered under the special plan, fund for which would be provided by the Centre.

The rapidly deteriorating situation on the Naxal front prompted state DGP, Mr Manmohan Praharaj to assert that Malkangiri has not gone out of hand.“We are facing difficulties in training security-men to fight Maoists in jungles and difficult terrain of Malkangiri and other places,” Mr Praharaj told reporters.He rejected suggestions that Maoists rule over entire Malkangiri, but admitted that “a small part of Malkangiri” close to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattishgarh borders is a difficult spot for the security personnel.

“Some places in Malkangiri remain under control of the ultras,” Mr Praharaj said.He sought to gloss over a barrage of questions on increased Maoist activities and lawlessness by repeatedly taking recourse to the need for capacity building, training etc at a Press conference here today.

While drawing comparison with bordering Chhatisgarh to claim that elections were held with less number of incidents in Malkangiri district, Mr Praharaj asked reporters not to draw comparison with the improved situation in Andhra Pradesh."They (Andhra Pradesh) have been preparing anti-Naxal operations since the eighties whereas our preparations, on a serious level, began only in 2003-04," Mr Praharaj said.

Mr Praharaj’s plea of capacity building and training exposed the fact that the state government and the home department in particular had failed in respect of prospective man power planning for over a decade if not more.

Apparently, the series of killings in Malkangiri and Koraput district coupled with a few gang rapes and murders in other parts of the state which had put the police administration in the dock, had prompted the DGP to "explain and put things in the right perspective".

"We lost sixty policemen in Malkangiri district alone last year," he said, while listing out the initiatives taken by the government to tackle the menace. Mr Praharaj also claimed that Orissa police had an excellent record as far as human rights related issues are concerned. Presently there are four CRPF battalions posted in Malkangiri and one more is being moved to the area. "In a few years, the tribal youths recruited as special policemen will complete their training," he said.A special action plan for Malkangiri district has been submitted to the Central government. It involves laying roads to connect inaccessible pockets, set up helipads, create security hubs and mobile camps, he said.Interestingly, Mr Praharaj, who spent a long tenure in the Intelligence wing, refused to concede that Intelligence gathering and network had failed to pre-empt Naxal strikes or even Naxal postering in districts.It may be noted that the Naxals have been issuing threats and posting leaflets, they have also travelled in hundreds and great distances to carry out daring strikes without the police getting a clue of their movements.With regards to the situation in Kandhmal and the recent threat to newly elected BJP legislator Mr Manoj Pradhan, the DGP said that four companies of paramilitary force has been stationed in the troubled district. Five hundred tribal youth police officers are being trained for deployment in the district. "Of the 827 riot cases registered, charge sheets have been submitted in 473 cases," he said.Mr Praharaj underlined the point that hard-core Maoists involved in the killing of Swami Laxmananada Swaraswati had been arrested. "Thirteen of the accused in the case have been nabbed including Udaya alias DP Rao, the one who pulled the trigger," he added.Meanwhile suspected Maoists eliminated Tukuna Sahu at Sagadapata village here accusing him of being a police informer. Police sources said three armed men had dragged Tukuna from his house late last night. He was shot dead and his body found today. Involvement of Left wing extremists cannot be ruled out said police sources while maintaining that investigations were on.

BHUBANESWAR: Trouble seems unending for the top cops in Kandhamal district. Adding to their pressure triggered by gradual withdrawal of CRPF from the region are certain posters threatening to eliminate MLA-elect of G Udayagiri Manoj Pradhan.

The posters, which were found pasted in riot-hit Raikia on Wednesday, reportedly contained death warnings for Pradhan, the main accused in last year's ethno-communal mayhem, and four other saffron activists. Though police is not yet sure as who has put up the posters, it is being suspected that Maoists could be behind it. Police sources, however, did not rule out the possibility of the involvement of mischief mongers.

"We have got information about such posters and are verifying it," Kandhamal SP Praveen Kumar said. According to police, they are trying to ascertain the authenticity of the posters as certain vested interest groups could be attempting to create fresh problems in the riot-ravaged region.

The development, incidentally, comes at a time when the BJP is making attempts to secure bail from the competent courts for Pradhan, who is incarcerated since mid-October.

Pradhan, who has been slapped with over a dozen cases ranging from murder to arson, is a believer in the hardcore brand of Hindutva and despite being in prison won the recent elections with consummate ease.

However, considering the spiral in Maoist activities especially since the gunning down of Hindu seer Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008, saffronites are worried over the safety in communally sensitive Kandhamal. "It is common knowledge that the extremists are openly opposing and threatening us. They have already killed some of our cadres during the past few months. We are perturbed over the developments," a saffron activist said. Cops, however, said they were doing all they can to salvage the situation and prevent violence in the district. "As of now we see no danger to Pradhan as he is in jail. We have intensified patrolling in sensitive locations," a cop said.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Kandhamal residents under the Kuidina Forum for Peace and Justice met Governor M C Bhandare here and pressed for fresh assessment of human life and property damage during the riots, identification of missing persons and action against the perpetrators of violence. The CPI (M), too, demanded adequate central funds for the riot victims and continuance of CRPF personnel in the district till "the threat of communal violence exists".

Naxals kidnap and kill farmer in GayaNews Desk - June 4, 2009 GAYA — A farmer was kidnapped and shot dead by suspected naxalites in Bihar’s Gaya district on Thursday, police said.

More than 20 suspected activists of proscribed CPI (Maoist) abducted Surendra Yadav and Krishna Yadav at gun-point from village Maksudpur under Khijalsarai police station in the district last night, sources said.

They freed Krishna Yadav later but took Surendra Yadav away to an known destination.

The assailants gunned down Surendra Yadav and threw his body in a field near Navranga village under Atri police station this afternoon, they said.

The body was recovered and brought to the A N College Medical College and Hospital here for post-mortem, sources said.

Raids were being carried out at different places to nab the culprits, sources said.

NEW DELHI: Outlining the new government’s resolve to meet internal security challenges head-on , President Pratibha Patil announced a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and stern measures to handle insurgency and Left-wing extremism . “The government has already prepared a detailed plan to address internal security challenges to be implemented in a timebound manner,” Ms Patil said.

While making it clear that terrorism would not be put up with, Ms Patil said a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) - an operational mechanism conceived by a taskforce on ‘Developing an Integrated Capability to address Internal Security Challenges’ led by NSA M K Narayanan - would be set up to take proactive anti-terror steps.

NCTC is conceived as a full-time agency with operational objectives that will have access to all the multi-agency centre (MAC) information, which will help it prepare intelligence-based operational plans. NCTC is proposed as a broadbased structure, complete with representatives of the Army and Central para-military forces.

According to Ms Patil, MAC, the centralised agency for collection and collation of intelligence, would be strengthened to ensure effective intelligence sharing and processing. As many as 30 state-level MACs are being set up to ensure smooth flow of intelligence to MAC from all parts of the country. “Enhanced information and intelligence sharing on a real-time basis would be made possible by the creation of a net-centric information command structure,” said Ms Patil.

“Stern measures to handle insurgency and Left-wing extremism will be taken,” she told MPs. Earlier, Union home minister P Chidambaram had, in a shift from the last government’s approach that counter-Naxal operations and development should go hand-in-hand , favoured counter-operations first to clear the area of Naxalites and an immediate follow-up with development of the “liberated” zones.

In the north-east too, the government is planning to tackle insurgent groups, especially the small but lethal players like DHD(Jewel), with full military might. Once the small insurgent groups have been decimated in counteroperations , the big fish like Ulfa will be tackled.

Talking about NIA, which has already been entrusted with three cases for investigation, Ms Patil said it would be empowered adequately to handle terror-related cases. Central and state police forces as well as the intelligence agencies would undergo massive expansion, both in terms of manpower and technology.

Special Forces and Quick Response Teams, she added, would be raised and deployed in vulnerable areas . Ms Patil sought the active participation of citizens in ensuring community policing. She also said maintenance of communal harmony was a priority for the government. “The mandate my government received was unmistakable in that the people wanted the country’s secular fabric to be protected,” she said.

OUR CORRESPONDENT Ranchi, June 3: Governor Syed Sibtey Razi’s adviser T.P. Sinha and state director-general of police (DGP) V.D. Ram today held a meeting in Daltonganj to discuss the execution of a development project in Palamau district.

The pilot project is part of a central government-sponsored scheme for the development of Naxalite-affected areas. The scheme was approved last year. One such pilot project has already been implemented in Chatra.

A sum of Rs 120 crore has been approved for the development of Palamau. Under the project, construction of roads will be undertaken in rural areas.

Besides, better agriculture and irrigation facilities will be introduced. Measures will also be taken to make ample educational opportunities available for the children of Maoist zones.

A special drive will also be launched to educate the masses about the dangers of siding with rivals. The awareness campaign will advise the villagers living in Naxalite strongholds to stay away from rebel outfits.

Speaking about security, DGP Ram said that paramilitary forces and Jharkhand Armed Police jawans would be pressed into service to facilitate smooth execution of the project.

The DGP admitted having received complaints that some state officials were paying levy to Maoist leaders. “Necessary action will be taken against such officials if concrete evidence is found against them,” he added.

Ram also confirmed that Palamau was the worst Naxalite-hit district in the state.

Gaya (Bihar), June 4 A farmer who was kidnapped by suspected Naxals was shot dead by the rebels in Gaya district today.

More than 20 suspected activists of proscribed CPI(Maoist) abducted Surendra Yadav and Krishna Yadav at gunpoint from Maksudpur village in the district last night, police said, adding that the extremists later freed Krishna, but took Surendra away to an unknown destination.

The assailants gunned down Surendra and threw his body in a field near Navranga village this afternoon, they said.

The body was brought to A N Medical College and Hospital here for postmortem.

FOUR HEAVY vehicles owned by ESSR Company were burnt by suspected maoists at Chitrakonda of Malkangiri district on Wednesday, in protest against the police atrocities and also not spending the money by the company under Peripheral Development Scheme. However, the multinational ESSR Company did not lodge any complaint with the police due to fear from the naxals. The police officials confirmed the incident is true but received no complaint from the company officials, the police said.

The ESSR multinational, transporting iron ore from Balidela iron ore project to Visakhapatnam through pipes, laid couple of years back acquiring the tribal land and inside the Reserve Forest area.

The naxals also blew up the Police Outpost at Mohupadar under Mathili block of Malkangiri district. Altogether, six police outposts were blown up by the naxals within one and half year in Malkangiri district. Almost all the police stations in Malkangiri district are manned by sticks without arms and ammunition out of fear from the naxals.

Pune: Maharashtra Director-General of Police SS Virk said here on Thursday that police officers need to lead from the front during emergencies and not stick to rooms and offices. “We can’t be leaders in rooms and offices. We can’t let down our people,” he said during the inauguration of induction training for Force One — a special commando force at the state-level, along the lines of NSG, to tackle terror and Naxal attacks.

Virk encouraged the 220 young cops selected for commando training by saying that he would like to lead the “Force One” in emergency situations. “We have serious challenges ahead. Commandos should be ready to face any kind of situation. I would like to lead the commandos in emergency operations.”

He said the police “system” has been “revised” after 26/11. “Quick response teams (QRTs) and riot-control teams have been formed. We have hired 46 boats for coastal patrolling. The co-ordination among police, Navy, Coast Guard and intelligence agencies has improved. And now we will have “Force One” for tackling serious situations like Mumbai terror attack.”

Home Minister Jayant Patil, who was also present on the occasion, said the state government will provide top class weapons, modern equipment, technology and other facilities to “Force One” commandos.

“We have selected 220 cops out of 1,600 who had applied. The selection was made after a series of tests,” Patil said. “It was not easy to get into Force One, which is the first commando force of a state in India. Only those having high-grade physical fitness were selected. We aim to make Force One one of the best anti-terrorist forces in the world,” he said.

“Force One will be initially installed at Mumbai and then at strategic locations like Pune and Nagpur. It will be able to reach the terror attack sites in a short span of time,” Patil said.

The commandos of Force One would now undergo strenuous induction training at SRPF, Pune. Expert trainers from NSG and retired Indian Army commandos will train them. They will be subjected to physical endurance, mental toughening, psychological test, combat shooting, tactical shooting and other training. Modern weapons have been provided for the purpose. Deputy Inspector General S Jagannathan will lead Force One.

Malkangiri, June 04: Continuing their onslaught, Maoists set ablaze five vehicles of a private company in Orissa's naxal-affected Malkangiri district, police said on Thursday.

Five vehicles including a truck, a tipper and jeeps were torched by a group of Maoists near Panasgandi village in Chitrakonda area, about 70 km from here last evening, officer in-charge of chitrakonda police station Alekha Garadia said.

Company officials and employees travelling in the jeeps were left unharmed as the ultras torched the vehicles after asking the occupants to get down, he said.

However, company authorities have not lodged any complaint with the police about the incident so far, police said adding combing operation has been launched and patrolling intensified in the area.

The incident came close on the heels of the killing of contractor Badri Narayan Patra by Maoists on May 29.

On June 01, the ultras blew up a police outpost at Mahupadar in Mathili area, sources said.

MALKANGIR: The alarming regularity of Maoist attacks in the district has panicked the inhabitants and put the administration in a spot of bother.

The district, which was once a hideout for the Left-wing extremists, has turned into a Maoist hotbed over the years. ‘’We are living amidst fear and uncertainty,’’ said an elected people’s representative of Chitrakonda. ‘’We have been suffering, sandwiched between the Maoists and the police,’’ he said.

The Maoists set ablaze five vehicles of the Chitrakonda-based ESSAR company near Ralegada area under Chitrakonda police limits last afternoon. Prior to that Maoists gunned down Chitrakonda-based contractor Badrinarayan Patra in broad daylight. The frequent attacks by Maoists prove Government’s failure to contain the Left-wing menace, he said.

‘’We are quite helpless and have been totally left at the mercy of the Maoists,’’ said a trader of Malkangiri town. An atmosphere of terror is gripping the entire district and signs of Maoist fear are writ large on the faces of the residents, he said.

A police officer of South-Western range admitted that the Maoists had already established full control over the district and partly over Koraput district. The situation in Malkangiri is deteriorating very fast because of the poor response of the State Government to the Maoist menace, the police officer said.

The Government should either initiate dialogue with the Left-wing extremists or deploy additional forces to contain the menace, he remarked. There is virtually a war-like situation in the district and the government must react to the issue in a strategic manner failing which a Nepal-like situation is bound to arise here, he remarked.

One of the reasons for the spread of Maoist network in the district is the lack of political will among the powers-that-be. All the political parties have become redundant in the affected districts thanks to Maoist intimidation and their violent activities, he said.

Maoist attacks are on the rise. In the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, over a dozen people were killed in coordinated Maoist strikes across Chattisgarh , Jharkhand and Orissa.

Now, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has a 100-day plan to tackle the Naxals. First there'll be police action to clear Naxals from an area, and only then will development follow.

This policy change comes amid reports of Maoists are getting help from rebels in northeast for weapons and training. Worse is that the Naxal rebels are extorting local bodies, taking the funds meant for development and infrastructure.

This is what is expected:

A coordinated and simultaneous push against Maoists from states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. Coordinated action against Maoist. Corner Maoists by blocking supply routesand operating space. Cornering leadership and hardcore cadre.

However, going on the offensive against the Naxals won't be easy. Chidambaram's biggest challenge will be to establish a single command and control structure. That won't be easy, given the number of states and agencies involved.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

HYDERABAD: The CPI (Maoist) today said it would avenge the ‘killing’ of party senior leaders Patel Sudhakar Reddy and Kanuguda Venkataiah by the police on May 23.

In a press note here today, Maoist spokesperson Azad warned Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, SIB and Greyhounds that they would have to pay a ‘heavy price’.

“Both of our comrades were arrested in Nasik in Maharashtra around 1 am on May 23 and shown as killed in an encounter in the early hours of May 24 in Lavvala forest near Tadwai in Warangal district,’’ he said. The encounter theory was fabricated by the police. “We can prove that both our comrades were picked up in Nasik some hours before the so-called encounter,’’ he claimed.

Sudhakar Reddy was a member of the Maoist Central Committee as well as Central Military Commission.

He was a sharp shooter.

But the pictures of the bodies showed that both were shot from point blank range, Azad alleged.

Malkangiri, May 31 (PTI) In a major attack, Maoists blew up a police outpost at Mahupadar in this Orissa district adjoining Chhattisgarh, police said today.A large number of ultras, including women, stormed into the outpost in Mathili area, about 70 km from here, late last night and drove away the lone constable present there at gun point, SP Satyabrata Bhoi said.

Soon after the constable fled the scene, the Maoists blew up the outpost and also set afire three motorcycles parked near the building before disappearing in the nearby forest, he said.

According to locals, the ultras raised slogans in favour of CPI-Maoist, police said.

Additional police force was rushed to the area and combing operation and intensive patrolling launched to trace the ultras.

The attack came barely two days after Maoists gunned down a contractor in Chitrakonda area. PTI

Monday, June 01, 2009 Malakangiri: Rebels have blown up a pipeline which carried iron ore from Chhattisgarh to Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh at Chitrakonda in the district.

The incident came to light on Sunday after iron ore was found leaking near a joint. But the company and police are denying the incident. Sources said though the underground pipe line of Essar company runs under the ground and is not easy to target it is suspected that the Maoists might have blown it with some powerful explosives.

However, company officials, when contacted, denied that it was the handiwork of Maoists and informed that they were investigating into the cause of the leakage which might be due to some other reasons.

The Chitrakonda police station Inspector-in- Charge said they have received no complaints about such incident. The pipeline stretching over 271 km started carrying iron ore in 2007 and was opposed by the local tribals and the Maoists.

The meeting between the People’s Committee against Police Atrocity (PCPA) and the state government scheduled for Monday hit a roadblock after the Maoists declared to observe strikes on Monday and Tuesday in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts, demanding the release of 15 Maoists, who were arrested from Chakulia.

“We have sent a letter to the district administration asking them to postpone the meeting till June 11. We could not defy the call of the Maoists as they also work for the people,” said Chhatradhar Mahato of the PCPA. West Midnapore District Magistrate N S Nigam affirmed the PCPA’s version.

The PCPA, meanwhile, has taken up development works and administrative functions in Lalgarh preventing the government officials from entering the area.

Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said,” We have no problem with them if they are undertaking works for the development of the area.”

KORAPUT: In what appears to be a well-calibrated offensive launched by Maoists against suspected police informers, the Red rebels murdered a 25-year-old tribal youth in Koraput district on Monday night. Villagers found the body of Siba Harka at Kandibalsa village under Narayanpatna police limits on Tuesday morning.

Harka was selected as a special police officer (SPO) but had not joined duty. He was working in a local voluntary organization. Harka of Kandibalsa village had left for Narayanpatna on Monday morning but he never returned. The rebels might have kidnapped Harka and hacked him on suspicion of helping police.

In a letter found near the body, the Maoists had reportedly stated that they killed Harka as he was passing information against the rebels to police.

Brushing aside Maoists charges SP (Koraput) Deepak Kumar said, "Every time the Maoists kill a civilian they charge him to be police informer. Harka was not our informer. We have never ever received any information from him. He was selected as a SPO but had not joined duty may be due to Maoist fear as the rebels in the area were against tribals joining as SPOs." "We are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the killing of Harka," the SP said.

This is the third murder of a "police informer" by Red rebels in less than 10 days in Koraput and Malkangiri districts. On May 25, Maoists had hacked a contractor, Kunjo Mandingi of Pachingi village, under Narayanpatna police limits, on suspicion of being a police associate. They followed it up with the slaying of Badrinarayan Patro, a contractor of Malkangiri district, on May 29. Patro and his brother had constructed a few buildings for the police department.

Harks'a killing came a day after the district administration called an all-party meeting to restore peace in Narayanpatna that had witnessed tribal unrest earlier in the first half of May.

The Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS), which is reportedly a Maoist-backed organization, had unleashed terror in the area by attacking people and damaging hundreds of houses in several villages across the district.

A 40 year-old man was beaten to death and many others injured by the CMAS members during their mayhem which continued for several days.

ASI Bera’s wife Jyotsna. Picture by Samir Mondal Bankura, June 3: Three policemen lunching at a roadside shop with their guns resting against tables were shot dead and robbed of their weapons in Bankura this afternoon.

Two other cops are battling death in hospital.

A group of eight closed in on them from all sides and started firing around 1.15pm. The police had no time to react, said witnesses at Pirolgari More, 10km from Sarenga police station in south Bankura.

As the cops fell, the attackers picked up their weapons — three .303 rifles, an SLR and a revolver — and sped away on motorcycles.

The needle of suspicion points at Maoists because of the daring nature of the strike, though the rebels have never killed policemen for arms in Bankura before.

The owner of Annapurna Hotel, Kalachand Das, was in the kitchen when he heard the shots. “These cops came to my eatery everyday for lunch. I was cooking when I heard the shots. I went to the door and saw a constable running. One of the assailants chased him and shot him,” said Das.

Scared, he fled inside and stepped out after the sound of the motorcycles faded.

Assistant sub-inspector Biswanath Bera, 50, who was leading the team, and constables Gopal Chandra Dey, 45, and Bishnupada Saha, 58, died on the spot.

Death almost chased down Saha, who was injured three years ago in an explosion that killed the officer in charge of Barikul, also in Bankura. He is from Burdwan. Bera is from West Midnapore and Dey from Purulia. They were out on routine patrol.

“There must have been at least 12 in the gang, eight of whom carried out the operation while the others waited on the bikes,” an officer said.

The attackers fled towards Raipur, from where the Jharkhand border is not far. District police chief Vishal Garg, who went to the spot, about 200km from Calcutta, said: “The border has been sealed.”

The condition of constable Nitendranath Das and National Volunteer Force member Balaram Maity is said to be serious.

Such attacks had so far been restricted to Purulia and West Midnapore, where suspected Maoists have shot policemen on several occasions and snatched their arms. “The only strike in Bankura so far was the one that killed the Barikul officer,” an officer said.

SARENGA (Bankura): Maoists ambushed a police patrol when they were having lunch at Simlipal’s Piralgiri More on Wednesday, killing three in cold blood. Two constables are critically injured.

Police suspect the Maoists had kept a watch on the police team’s movements for some time. A 15-member attack squad came out of Jangalkhand on Wednesday, followed the patrol party to the hotel on Jhargram-Bankura Road and riddled them with bullets. “Eight to nine gunmen opened fire from behind, without uttering a word,” said Lakshmirani Mandi, who works at the hotel.

ASI Biswanath Bera and constables Bishnupada Saha and Gopal Dey died on the spot. The Maoists then moved to the parked van, where constable Nripendranath Das and NVF’s Balaram Maity sat petrified. The duo tried to put up a fight but were outnumbered and shot in the head. They are at Bankura Hospital.

The attackers fled with an SLR, three .303 rifles and a revolver. “They had some motorcycles hidden among the trees and sped away shouting ‘Maobad zindabad’,” said hotel owner Kalachand Das.

Police suspect the motive for the attack was to loot weapons. Another reason could be that the Sarenga police have repeatedly raided nearby villages in search of Maoists in the past few months.

Panic spread after the attack. Shops shut and the road was deserted for the rest of the day. Bankura SP Vishal Garg is leading the hunt for the attackers, who fled to the jungles in Simlipal or Belpahari or towards Khatra.

CPM district secretary Amiya Patra condemned the incident, saying Maoists were trying to unleash a reign of terror in the area. But Trinamool district president Kashinath Mishra blamed police for “failing to restore peace in the area”.

3 policemen killed in alleged Maoist attack

Staff Reporter

KOLKATA: Three policemen were killed and two others injured when they were shot from point blank range by suspected Maoists in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Wednesday.

Two constables and an officer died on the spot. The injured were admitted to hospital.

Arms stolen

All of them had entered a roadside eatery at the Pirolgani crossing near Sarenga when they were shot by the five assailants riding motorcycles. They escaped with three rifles, a revolver and an SLR from the policemen.

Maoist strike in Bankura kills 3 cops

;Statesman News ServiceSARENGA (Bankura), 3 June: Three policemen were shot dead by Maoists near Pirolgari crossing in Sarenga of Bankura district when they were having lunch at a roadside eatery around 12.45 p.m. today.

Eyewitnesses said about 15 armed Maoist cadres raided the thatched establishment where 51-year-old ASI Biswanath Bera and two constables ~ Gopalchandra De (46) and Bishnupada Saha (45) were eating and asked other patrons to vacate it. The eatery owner, Mr Kalachand Das, said: “Six armed men marched up to the policemen and asked them to hold their hands up. The others waited outside.”

“The moment the ASI attempted to crawl away clutching a cell phone in one hand, he was shot. The constables received bullets in the temple before the Maoists started shooting indiscriminately. All three died instantly,” Mr Das said. The Maoist cadres waiting outside then attacked a constable, Mr Nripen Das and one National Volunteer Force member, Mr Balaram Maity, who were guarding the Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank ~ a stone's throw away. The duo were rifle-whipped. The cadres then punctured the tyres of a parked police vehicle and stripped the security personnel of arms before fleeing on motorbikes. Bankura SP Mr Vishal Garg said: “The Maoists picked up three rifles, one SLR and one pistol before heading in the direction of Lalgarh. We suspect they are members of the Lalgarh squad of Maoists.”

The injured policemen were rushed to Bankura Sammiloni Medical College and Hospital. Pirolgari is a crossing trifurcating the only metal road link from the district town to Raipur in Sarenga and connecting Lalgarh in Midnapore West with locations in Bankura. District police had introduced mobile patrols after a Maoist raid on a bank in 2006 (see chart). Police said Pirolgari was vulnerable owing to its proximity with the Lalgarh jungle.

Bus services between Bankura and Jhargram in West Midnapore were suspended after the strike. Pirolgari College, which was conducting an examination, shuttered its entrance. The last time Maoists had targeted policemen in Bankura was on 9 July, 2005

Kolkata In a daring daylight attack suspected Maoists gunned down three policemen and injured two others in Bankura district on Wednesday. The attack took place in the Sarenga police station area following which the assailants escaped with the police team’s firearms.

The deceased are Assistant Sub-Inspector Biswanath Bera (50) of Daspur in West Midnapore, constables Gopal Dey (46) from Hura, Purulia and Bishnupada Saha (45) of Khandaghosh in Burdwan. The injured are constable Nripendranath Das and home guard Balaram Maity.

Police said the police team was on a patrol duty in the Maoist-affected area and had stopped at a local dhaba at Pirolgari crossing for lunch when a gang of seven to eight armed men arrived on motorbikes and opened fire on the policemen.

The owner of the dhaba, Kalachand Das, told police that their colleagues used to regularly have their lunch while on a patrol duty.

While Bera, Dey and Saha died after being hit by bullets, Das and Maity were beaten up by the suspected Maoists.

Police said the injured were taken to a local primary health centre for first aid and then referred to Bankura Medical College & Hospital for further treatment.

Superintendent of Police (Bankura) Vishal Garg said a large-scale combing operation has been launched to apprehend the assailants. “The district border with West Midnapore has been sealed. It is too early to say who they were, but we suspect them to be Maoists. It is not yet known if they are based in Bengal or came from a neighbouring state,” Garg said, adding no arrests have been made so far.

As news of the attack came to Bankura district headquarters, senior police officers rushed to the spot. A police picket has also been set up in the area. Of the 19 districts in the state, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore are hit by Maoist activities. In recent times, Maoists based in Jharkhand have been more active in West Midnapore and Purulia, where their targets have been CPM cadres, district administration functionaries and police personnel.

Reacting to the attack, Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said in a statement: “I am grieved to learn of the death of three police personnel and injury to some others on duty at Sarenga at the hands of terrorists. I convey my sincerest condolences to the bereaved families.”

Nawada , Jun 3 A cache of explosive, including can bombs and explosive materials, three rifles and several rounds of ammunition were seized when police raided a hideout of naxalites at a place in Bihar&aposs Nawada district today, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar, carried out a raid in Khatangi forest area under Rajauli police station in the wee hours today and made the seizures, SP Nishant Tiwari said.

KUMUD JENAMANI Jamshedpur, June 2: Villages close to Bengal border can look forward to frequent football tournaments, musical programmes and other recreational activities shortly.

All these would be part of community policing initiatives to be undertaken by the East Singhbhum police at Chakulia, Dhalbhumgarh and Naxalite-affected Ghatshila. The move is aimed at checking the spread of Naxalism.

The decision to start community policing was taken in the wake of a rally taken out by Police Santras Pratirodh Samiti, a pro-rebel outfit at Chakulia on Sunday. The CPI(Maoist) outfit has been trying to make inroads into the villages under Chakulia and Dhalbhumgarh block located close to Bengal border.

The police had started a checking drive during the rally and detained 28. Later they arrested nine of them, including four women, suspected of being Naxalites.

East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh revealed that the body, active in rebel-hit areas in Bengal, wanted to spread its tentacles in Chakulia block of Ghatshila by holding meetings and rallies against the police. The body had set up its East Singhbhum unit with Madan Mahto as the unit chief. Interrogation of the arrested had thrown up these startling revelations, he said.

“The aim is to befriend the villagers in Chakulia and also in Dhalbhumgarh. During the process, we will try to let the villagers know exactly who these Naxalites are and how dangerous they are to society,” said Singh.

He said the district police had already been carrying out community policing in the district for three years, but on a low profile, like distributing blankets among the poor during winter and study material among poor students.

“Our focus will be on the younger generation, which is susceptible to change. We will organise football tourneys between local youths and jawans and other social events like orchestra and antakshari in villages bordering Bengal,” he added

BHUBANESWAR: The growing Naxal menace in the State witnessed during the last three months, particularly in the southern districts, has emerged as a major challenge before the newly sworn-in Naveen Patnaik government.

The killing of Sibaram in Narayanpatna block in Koraput district today is a pointer to what extent the situation has worsened in the area.

The Naxalites have killed at least six persons in the southern districts during the last two months.

Three of those brutally killed by the Naxals were contractors while Sibaram was reported to be working as a special police officer (SPO) in that area.

Naveen Patnaik today took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here.

The law and order situation in the State has taken a turn for the worse during the year. While the activities of the Naxals are on the rise in various areas of the State, the gangrape of a Dalit girl at Paikmal was embarrassing to the government.

The rape of the Dalit girl has taken a political colour with the Opposition parties demanding the resignation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare and Minorities Development Minister Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha for allegedly trying to suppress the case.

On the top of it, the brutal murder of Mauni Baba in Puri has clearly exposed bad law and order.

The killing of the Malkangiri candidate of Samruddha Odisha in April had given a clear indication that the Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) are getting bold.

Another cause for worry is the situation in Kandhamal district which is gradually slipping into the clutches of the Naxals.

The LWEs are suspected to have killed nine persons in the district during the last one year.

Even though peace prevails in the district on the communal front and there has been no incident during the last eight months, nobody can vouch for the safety of the region after the partial withdrawal of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Published: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 at 13:28 ISTF Prev Next LBhubaneshwar: Posters carrying threats against a BJP legislature and Bajarang Dal workers have been found in Kandhamal district, the police said.

Superintendent of police of Kandhmal S Praveen Kumar suspected that it might be handiwork of the Naxalites.

He said that poster carrying life threats to BJP MLA from Rakaria Manoj Pradhan and three activists of the Bajrang Dal were found on Wednesday.

Pradhan is lodged in G Udaigir jail for his involvement in last year's communal violence. The administration has tightened security around jail.

It is worth mentioning that Vishwa Hindu Parisdhad leader Swami Laxmanand Saraswati and his four associates were killed on August 23 last year. After his killing the region witnessed widespread violence in which 38 people were killed and around 38000 people had to escape from the region. Nearly 2,500 people are still living in the government relief camps.

While the police blamed the naxalites for the murders, some Hindu Sangathanas alleged Christians were behind the crime and launched attack against the community.

RANCHI: Every fifth day in the state is crippled by a bandh reason why truck owners are deeply perturbed. On Wednesday, the Jharkhand Truck Owners' Association (JTOA) expressed concern over such a "painfully frequent phenomenon about 70 in a year called by Maoists in the state and failure of the government to control the trend.

According to the association, bandhs and the resultant collpase of transport are hitting business in the state quite hard.

"Not only is this costing us dear, this bandh," JTOA president Uday Shanker Ojha said. "Nowhere else in the country do so many bandhs occur 70 days in a year," he added.

In fact, in the past 12 months, various Naxalite organisations have called no fewer than 70 statewide bandhs in Jharkhand, crippling its road transportation and the railways, often the soft targets of Maoists.

The JTOA has announced that it would organize a march to the Raj Bhawan on July 2 to attract Governor Syed Sibte Razi's attention.

During such bandhs truck owners suffer most. The Red rebels often torch their vehicles, and even kill the drivers.

The Maoists also block the roads, causing delay in the delivery system, and also vandalize vehicles.

New Delhi: A revamp of the intelligence network and greater coordination among central paramilitary forces to counter naxalites, insurgents and terrorists are top on home minister P Chidambaram's agenda for his 100-day action plan that quietly kicked off on Monday.

The plan will focus on raising preparedness to meet security threats and maintain public order. If a situation arises, it envisages ensuring "quick response and decisiveness action" using advanced technology, highly trained human resources and modern systems.

Top on the agenda is left wing violence that has been engulfing more areas over the years. It has mooted a joint command of the Border Security Forces, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other central paramilitary forces along with the state police, to combat the naxalites.

A high-level committee headed by national security advisor MK Narayanan has recommended setting up of a counter-intelligence centre under the Intelligence Bureau, a maritime intelligence and security centre under the National Security Council and creation of a centre for nuclear and missile intelligence that will have officials from intelligence and security agencies.

A significant part of the panel's recommendation, that forms the basis for the action plan, pertains to enhancing analytical capabilities of the intelligence agencies and setting up of an exclusive training centre for them. It has mooted state multi-agency centres for intelligence sharing.

However, a huge backlog of vacancies in the higher echelons of police could prove to be an impediment for this action plan. By the home minister's own admission, the United Progressive Alliance government had inherited a backlog of nearly 200 vacancies of Indian Police Service rank from its predecessor, the National Democratic Alliance regime, which has created serious administrative problems.

Home ministry sources felt the shortage of officers has hit work in intelligence agencies and at the operational levels in the central paramilitary forces. The Intelligence Bureau has been facing a serious crunch due to a shortage of officers.

"We have been able to provide only 13 IPS officers to the IB in the last six months. More needs to be done," Chidambaram admitted.

Impediments

The home minister blames the NDA government for sitting over a backlog of 200 vacancies of IPS officers

He says this created serious administrative problems

Efforts are on to provide 130 more officers to the Intelligence Bureau by the end of 2009

Anurag Sharma New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) As naxalism continues to be the biggest threat to internal security, experts believe that the local police dealing with Maoists are ill-equipped and need proper training, intelligence support and re-orientation.

"Its high time steps are taken for proper training and infrastructure to the local police, who are ill-equipped to deal with the naxals operating in areas difficult to reach. We have to deal to with naxalism on par with terrorism," says former CBI director Joginder Singh.

A very recent research report by Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR) states that more lives were lost in naxal violence in the country during the past four years than in the armed conflicts in the North East or Jammu and Kashmir."The current security driven responses are not working and indeed they are counter-productive", the report says.

During General Elections as many as 65 people, most of them security personnel, lost their lives in different acts of violence.

Arun Bhagat, former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director, says that apart from equipment, state police need to be re-oriented to fight naxalism.

"Local police should first learn the military tactics of attack and defence because its a 'Guerrilla' war situation. And hot pursuit against naxals are required so that they don't get away easily," he says. PTI

New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) With a focus on ensuring better security environment in the country, the Union Home Ministry has chalked out a 100-day Action Plan which includes operationalisation of NSG hubs and giving more functional powers to the National Investigation Agency.

The Action Plan, prepared by the Home Ministry following a directive of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to be implemented from tomorrow, will specifically deal with security threat emanating from Naxal menace and sectarian violence, home ministry sources said.

A major joint operation against left wing extremists is on the cards as the militants have been on a rampage, killing civilians and security forces in central India.

The Action Plan aims to operationalise the NSG regional hubs in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai within the next 100 days so that the specialised commando force could be stationed in the four major cities, sources said.

The Home Ministry also plans to expedite the recruitment process of the NIA in the next 100 days as the agency is yet to take its full shape.

So far, 94 posts, including that of one Additional Director General and two Inspector Generals, have been sanctioned for the newly-created probe agency. The Director General of NIA has already been appointed. PTI

New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) In a signal that naxalism will be tackled with an iron hand, the Centre may soon rope in the services of two more para-military forces to counter Left-wing extremism along with the CRPF, which is already deployed to deal with the menace.

Sources in the Home Ministry said a combined team of CRPF, BSF and ITBP is likely to be set up to undertake special operations in Naxal-infested areas.The proposal which had been pending for some time received a push in the wake of widespread Naxal violence during the Lok Sabha polls, when left-wing extremists used rocket launchers for the first time.

Sources said a meeting was recently held in the ministry to chalk out a new strategy which also included possibility of increasing more personnel on the ground.

The CRPF, which has been fighting the naxals along with state police forces, did not have any more men to offer till its newly created 10,000 personnel strong special force - Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) - completed recruitment and training.

The Home Ministry had then approached other paramilitary forces to know whether they could give additional personnel to take on the Naxals and the BSF and ITBP replied in the affirmative. PTI

New Delhi, Jun 1 Amid reports of two more paramilitary forces joining the counter- Naxal operations, the BSF today said it is ready to perform the duty as it did in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast earlier.

"We are ready to go wherever the government wants us to go and we will have to impart a short training to our troops as the Naxal problem is a specialised one," Director General of BSF, M L Kumawat told reporters here.

Kumawat said Border Security Force (BSF) has earlier worked in Naxal-infested areas and insurgency and militancy hit areas of Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources in the Home Ministry, a combined team of the CRPF, BSF and ITBP is likely to be brought in for undertaking offensives against the Left-Wing Extremists (LWE) in various states of the country.

The proposal, pending for some time, received a push in the wake of widespread Naxal violence during the Lok Sabha polls, when the extremists used rocket launchers for the first time.

Kumawat, who commands the the 157-batallion of border guarding force, however, said an order from the government had not been received so far.

May 31st, 2009 - 8:22 pm ICT by Lambodar Prasad Dash - Bhubaneswar (Orissa): Naxals’ rage continued in Malkangiri District. After killing of Chitrakonda market committe president and contractor Badri Patro on day before yesterday, today maoists blownup Mundaguda police outpost of Mathili PS. They also burnt down a mobile tower, three police vehicles. The naxals continued their operation for more than three hour, but district police did not get any bit of information about this.According to the sources, yesterday night around 11pm, more than 70 armed naxals attacked a police outpost of Mundaguda, 40 km away from Mathili police station. At that time only three constables were on duty. Naxals tied them nearby tree and blown up the police outpost by a land mine. After this they set a blaze three motor cycles of police personales. Then they went to Mahupadar, 10 km away from the Mundaguda outpost, where the new police outpost was under construction. They also blown up the building and near by mobile tower.Malkangiri SP Satyabrata Bhoi, said, the old police outpost of Mundaguda was under the target of the Naxals. So police constructed a new outpost near Mahupadar. Naxals were used zillatine sticks, used in Quarry works. According to the local sources, there were 70 naxals among them 30 were women. They also carried AK 47 rifles with them.

Bantwal, June 2, 2009: The Kaval Mudur town in Bantwal taluk which is known for its Kambla today acquired distinction dubious at that of running an illegal gun factory. The Belthangady police in a joint operation with the Anti Naxal Force late last night raided the gun factory and arrested one Ramesh Achari who was making illegal arms. 10 guns were also recovered from the site.

According to the Inspector of the Belthangady Police Station Gangi Reddy speaking to Mangalorean.Com stated that Ramesh Achari had a trade licence for repairing guns that had expired 8 months back. After that he had taken up production of guns and was selling them.

The police state that one of the guns manufactured here was instrumental in a murder of one Jobie Jacob of Belthangady by hunters.

This was the first illegal gun factory which was unearthed in the district and according Mr. Gangi Reddy there could be more and the police were combing the area.

Our CorrespondentDaijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Jun 2: A team of policemen led by Beltangady circle inspector Gangi Reddy raided a unit located in Kavalamudoor village that was involved with the manufacture of guns illegally, on the night of Monday June 1. The policemen have seized 10 guns and arrested a person. Two others who were involved with the unit succeeded in giving the policemen a slip.

Ramesh Achary from Manyavu Mane of Kavalamudoor village in the taluk was manufacturing guns at his house illegally. Even though Ramesh held a licence for repairing the guns, the term of the licence had expired some time back. It is said, Ramesh was involved with guns manufacture since about the last eight months.

It may be recalled, that a youth named Jobi George had been killed after two persons who had been into the forest for hunting, had fired at him, mistakenly thinking him to be a wild bore, some time back. It is said, the gun used by the killers was bought from Achary.

The policemen have confiscated various items used for gun manufacture. The operation was jointly launched by the Anti Naxal Force and Beltngady police. The operation was guided by district superintendent of police Dr Subrahmanyeshwar Rao, while circle inspector Gangi Reddy, sub inspector Subbapoora Mutt and other personnel took part in it.

Umesh Chandra

Umesh Chandra, IPS was bold and daring in dealing with the naxalites. He relentlessly pursued the apprehension of extremists, naxalites and other anti-social elements. He planned and led all counter-terrorist operations himself.